2019 Starting Pitcher Rankings: Top 100

We wrap up each week of positional coverage with our 2019 rankings. In addition to the rankings we will pose a number of questions to our panel covering topics such as reaches and targets, players to avoid and late round impact players.

Taking part in our rankings will be Jim Finch, Hunter Denson, Seth Bias and Jake Blodgett. Our four “experts” each ranked their top 100 starting pitchers for the 2019 season.

Players marked N/R were not ranked inside the top 100 by that particular person. If you feel we overlooked someone or would like to debate a player’s ranking, feel free to do so in the comment section below.

Rank

Player

Team

Jim

Jake

Seth

Hunter

1

Max Scherzer

Nationals

1

1

1

1

2

Jacob deGrom

Mets

3

2

2

2

3

Chris Sale

Red Sox

2

3

3

3

4

Corey Kluber

Indians

4

5

6

9

5

Gerrit Cole

Astros

6

9

4

5

6

Justin Verlander

Astros

8

6

7

4

7

Aaron Nola

Phillies

5

4

10

10

8

Blake Snell

Rays

16

8

5

6

9

Carlos Carrasco

Indians

7

10

12

11

10

Patrick Corbin

Nationals

14

12

8

7

11

Trevor Bauer

Indians

20

7

9

8

12

Noah Syndergaard

Mets

9

13

13

13

13

Mike Clevinger

Indians

11

15

11

14

14

Luis Severino

Yankees

10

16

18

12

15

Jameson Taillon

Pirates

17

14

19

17

16

Zack Greinke

Diamondbacks

18

19

16

18

17

German Marquez

Rockies

19

21

17

16

18

Walker Buehler

Dodgers

23

11

21

19

19

James Paxton

Yankees

15

17

20

23

20

Stephen Strasburg

Nationals

13

18

24

22

21

Jose Berrios

Twins

24

27

15

15

22

Jack Flaherty

Cardinals

22

22

14

25

23

Clayton Kershaw

Dodgers

12

20

27

27

24

Zach Wheeler

Mets

21

24

23

21

25

David Price

Red Sox

27

26

22

20

Which top-20 pitcher do you plan on owning the most stock of?

Hunter: If I decide to invest in an upper tier arm going into the season, there’s no one I want more shares of than Aaron Nola. He had a great season last year and I see big things for him and the Phillies in 2019.

Jim: I’m all about consistency and value so I see a lot of Carlos Carrasco in my future. He and teammate Corey Kluber are the type of pitchers that you can look at their track record and virtually guarantee what they will give you. I’ll pay an extra dollar or reach a round early to get either.

Seth: I tend to wait on pitching, but I like both Jack Flaherty and German Marquez a great deal.

Jake: I wouldn’t advise the strategy for every player, but for Corey Kluber I will accept being a year too late to abandon ship rather than let someone else enjoy another year of 200K, a sub-3 ERA, and a sub-1 WHIP. A drop in velocity late last year, a sub-par playoff showing and trade rumors have understandably scared some managers, but I’m in – for 2019 at least.

Rank

Player

Team

Jim

Jake

Seth

Hunter

26

Luis Castillo

Reds

25

29

32

26

27

J.A. Happ

Yankees

29

32

25

28

28

Madison Bumgarner

Giants

26

23

28

38

29

Charlie Morton

Rays

37

30

26

24

30

Miles Mikolas

Cardinals

30

28

29

32

31

Mike Foltynewicz

Braves

38

25

31

37

32

Masahiro Tanaka

Yankees

31

35

34

34

33

Kyle Hendricks

Cubs

28

34

38

36

34

Yu Darvish

Cubs

33

40

36

29

35

Robbie Ray

Diamondbacks

34

31

30

45

36

Nick Pivetta

Phillies

35

38

42

30

37

Cole Hamels

Cubs

32

37

46

31

38

Chris Archer

Pirates

36

44

33

35

39

Andrew Heaney

Angels

40

41

47

33

40

Eduardo Rodriguez

Red Sox

41

42

35

44

T 41

Dallas Keuchel

FREE AGENT

42

47

41

39

T 41

Shane Bieber

Indians

48

36

37

48

43

Nathan Eovaldi

Red Sox

43

39

44

49

44

Carlos Martinez

Cardinals

39

50

40

51

45

Jon Lester

Cubs

46

51

45

55

46

Jon Gray

Rockies

47

59

49

43

47

Rich Hill

Dodgers

45

45

50

60

48

Hyun-Jin Ryu

Dodgers

49

46

54

53

49

Kenta Maeda

Dodgers

51

52

64

41

50

Yusei Kikuchi

Mariners

54

48

58

52

Which starting pitchers do you plan on avoiding in the draft?

Hunter: Clayton Kershaw (23.9% K%, 4.5% BB%, 1.04 WHIP in 2018). Last season he was a lot closer to Anibal Sanchez (24.4% K%, 7.6% BB%, 1.08 WHIP in 2018) than he was to an ace and his latest injury concerns aren’t helping matters.

Jim: Blake Snell and Trevor Bauer both had breakout seasons, and not even I will argue the numbers put up in 2018. However, an NFBC ADP of 29 and 33 respectively is too rich for me. I have the most faith in Snell of the two, and he is the right age for a breakout, but I’d like to see it again before investing this high As for Bauer, he has a long track record of mediocrity for me to just vault him into the upper echelon.

Seth: You won’t find me with Julio Teheran on my team. I don’t understand why he’s still so over-drafted – if your closer allowed as many baserunners in his innings as Teheran does in the first, he’d lose his job!

Jake: I don’t like banking on guys to duplicate or best career years. Miles Mikolas and Charlie Morton were awesome last year, and very well could be again, but I am going to pass while wishing them both the best of luck.

Rank

Player

Team

Jim

Jake

Seth

Hunter

T 51

Zack Godley

Diamondbacks

50

69

57

40

T 51

Rick Porcello

Red Sox

65

43

39

69

53

Marco Gonzales

Mariners

52

62

62

42

54

Tyler Glasnow

Rays

55

64

43

58

55

Kyle Freeland

Rockies

73

33

48

70

T 56

Alex Wood

Reds

44

66

59

56

T 56

Kevin Gausman

Braves

59

49

55

62

58

Jose Quintana

Cubs

61

54

53

64

59

Joey Lucchesi

Padres

57

57

60

61

60

Alex Reyes

Cardinals

53

60

66

63

61

Tyler Skaggs

Angels

56

68

69

59

62

Joe Musgrove

Pirates

67

63

78

46

63

Jake Arrieta

Phillies

72

53

61

72

64

Ross Stripling

Dodgers

58

67

77

57

65

Collin McHugh

Astros

64

93

51

54

66

Josh James

Astros

63

58

56

94

67

Sean Newcomb

Braves

68

65

52

87

68

Jhoulys Chacin

Brewers

77

55

65

76

69

Kyle Gibson

Twins

80

79

67

50

70

Sonny Gray

Reds

60

80

73

65

71

Marcus Stroman

Blue Jays

62

70

74

81

72

Steve Matz

Mets

69

87

63

73

T 73

Michael Wacha

Cardinals

66

82

71

79

T 73

Mike Minor

Rangers

75

73

72

78

75

Jesus Luzardo

Athletics

70

72

75

88

Who is your favorite underrated pitcher based on current ADP?

Hunter: German Marquez at 82.40 looks low to me given his 2018 performance. Obviously, he comes with some risk given his home environment and lack of MLB experience, but as the 29th arm off the board? Yes, please.

Seth: I like Trevor Richard’s stuff. I like Stroman’s stuff too. And I made the argument Marquez could be drafted top 10.

Jake: My initial reaction was Shane Bieber, but it looks like his bandwagon is at an appropriate capacity, kudos to the fantasy community for recognizing the importance of command. My second choice for this question is Jameson Taillon, a man who missed fewer games battling cancer than Aaron Sanchez missed for blisters. With the slider he developed last year he could provide top-10 value, but he’s not quite being drafted based on that ceiling.

Rank

Player

Team

Jim

Jake

Seth

Hunter

76

Michael Fulmer

Tigers

71

78

82

75

77

Julio Urias

Dodgers

79

56

94

85

78

Julio Teheran

Braves

88

76

87

93

79

Jakob Junis

Royals

98

77

84

90

80

Reynaldo Lopez

White Sox

81

61

N/R

71

81

Derek Holland

Giants

84

94

97

89

82

Matthew Boyd

Tigers

N/R

74

81

66

83

Anibal Sanchez

Nationals

87

N/R

91

47

84

Jimmy Nelson

Brewers

74

N/R

79

84

85

Luke Weaver

Diamondbacks

76

N/R

89

82

86

Brandon Woodruff

Brewers

N/R

95

76

77

87

Carlos Rodon

White Sox

90

75

85

N/R

88

Anthony DeSclafani

Reds

83

N/R

88

86

89

Freddy Peralta

Brewers

93

N/R

70

96

90

Trevor Cahill

Angels

96

90

N/R

74

91

Forrest Whitley

Astros

99

71

92

N/R

92

Aaron Sanchez

Blue Jays

78

86

100

N/R

93

C.C. Sabathia

Yankees

85

100

N/R

83

94

Mike Fiers

Athletics

92

81

96

N/R

95

Brad Keller

Royals

97

85

N/R

91

96

Jake Odorizzi

Twins

100

96

N/R

100

97

Dylan Bundy

Orioles

N/R

N/R

86

68

T 99

Trevor Williams

Pirates

N/R

92

68

N/R

T 99

Touki Toussaint

Braves

N/R

N/R

80

80

100

Lucas Giolito

White Sox

86

83

N/R

N/R

Late round pick who could make an impact?

Hunter: Brad Peacock (335.45) and Matt Strahm (389.01) are two late round picks (or early waiver wire targets) I want on my roster this season. Both are fighting for rotation spots and could easily turn a profit if they break camp with a job.

Jim: Focusing on pitchers who were not reached for inside the top-200 (not an easy task) I’d be looking at Sonny Gray. The Yankees altered his pitch usage from previous years which I think played a part in his demise (he was quite serviceable before NY). Luke Weaver, Mike Fiers, Michael Pineda, Greg Holland, Lance Lynn and Chase Anderson are a few more of my favorite late rounders.

Seth: Richards, Strahm, a rookie like Luzardo, Whitley or Keller. Even a guy like Caleb Smith.

Jake: It’s not exactly a hot-take to say that the best pitching prospect in the game could be fantasy-relevant, but sometimes it’s nice not to overthink things. Forrest Whitley is a young pitcher with a giant frame, three plus pitches and two plus-plus offerings – sounds like a guy I want on my team.

Outside Looking in

Rank

Player

Team

Jim

Jake

Seth

Hunter

101

Zach Eflin

Phillies

N/R

89

90

150

102

Dereck Rodriguez

Giants

N/R

N/R

83

97

103

Vince Velasquez

Phillies

N/R

88

99

N/R

104

Matt Harvey

Angels

N/R

97

N/R

92

105

Matt Strahm

Padres

N/R

N/R

98

98

In addition to the above five players, there were an additional 14 players ranked – each appearing on only one set of rankings… basically a few of our personal favorites to consider. With the exception of Tyler Anderson, none of them were ranked in the top 80 and only the first four ranked in the 81-90 range.

2 thoughts on “2019 Starting Pitcher Rankings: Top 100”

Hi. Why is everyone so down on Trevor Williams??? I have him ranked a lot higher on my board and no one is really talking about his HUGE second half. Is everyone against soft tossers? Younger Kyle Hendricks? Thanks

First is low strikeouts. I can live with this in certain situations, but you need to do a lot of other things right for me to accept a K/9 below 7.00

The contact rate went up a point, and two points the year prior. Overall not a big concern, except for almost 8% drop in ground balls. That’s not good for a guy with a fastball just over 90MPH with average (at best) secondary offerings.

His top-12 soft contact rate the past two years could lead to trouble with increased contact. Look at the soft contact leaderboard from highest to lowest. You’ll see deGrom, Scherzer, Verlander, Nola, Severino, Castillo – guys with heat to explain the soft contact. Williams makes an unlikely candidate to stick here.

Throw in a lucky .261 BABIP (8th lowest), a 4.54 xFIP and a 4.68 SIERA, and everything about his 2018 season seems wrong. He doesn’t have the arsenal to be a successful ML pitcher. Yes, he has gotten by so far – go ask Julio Teheran how long that lasts.

The difference between Kyle Hendricks (who I love) and someone like Williams is, again, stuff. He doesn’t throw hard, but he does have a strong 4 pitch arsenal, and outside his curveball they all grade out better than average – something you can’t say about Williams. I have nothing against soft tossers if they have what it takes to make it work. I don’t see anything in Williams that makes me believe he can take a step forward, and with a limited ceiling and low floor I want nothing to do with him. I’d rather roll the dice on an aging veteran and their boring static numbers or an unknown with upside over Williams. And, with a few arms in Pittsburgh’s minor league system that could/should be ready this year… Williams is the low man on the totem pole. He could very well be in the pen or another team this time next year.